


Penciling in sleep

by anecdotalist



Series: An anthology of Obikin anecdotes [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 12:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17243993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anecdotalist/pseuds/anecdotalist
Summary: It’s two years after the Battle of Geonosis. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Jedi War General and leads the GAR. Anakin Skywalker had just been Knighted 6 months ago after completing supplemental healer training under Master Che and is now the Commander of the Relief and Support Forces. He’s just returned from a trip and learned that Obi-Wan has not been taking care of himself so he takes matters into his own hands.





	Penciling in sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dendral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dendral/gifts).



> This was originally posted to my tumblr on May 7, 2017 as a (belated) bday gift for Dendral, who's an amazing friend, beta, fellow plot bunny generator and worldbuilder. I still owe her a bday gift for 2018....
> 
> I actually have more plotted out for this universe but if I write more for this, it'll likely be in drabbles because otherwise, it'd be a whole rewrite of the Clone Wars and I've got too many unfinished wips to do that.

“Request for seven...thousand kilos...of grains,” Obi-Wan mutters, squinting down at the flimsiplast in his hands. The words keep blurring in front of him. He fights back a yawn. “Seven thousand...kilos?” Does that number make sense for the size of the group they need to feed? He pinches the bridge of his nose. Why is it so hard to do the calculations? Seven thousand. That should be enough for—

His datapad chimes an alert.

“Now what?” He sets the flimsi down and picks up his datapad, unlocks it with his thumbprint, and groans at the reminder for the High Council meeting in an hour. “Yet another sleepless night, Kenobi. You’d better hope Anakin doesn’t find out or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Then his eyes widen in memory: Anakin had gotten back to Coruscant late into the night cycle after a four-week tour of the Agricorps sites and had commed him...and Obi-Wan had said that he was just wrapping up some work in the Archive and that he’d join Anakin for bed soon. “Blast! You’re never going to hear the end of it, Kenobi.”

He hopes Anakin had at least gotten some sleep instead of waiting up for him.

He stands up and stretches, trying to work out the kinks from sitting hunched over a desk for hours. Stacks of flimsiplasts litter the work table of the private study room, some completed and signed, some still waiting for his review and signature.

“Perhaps when it’s not as busy,” he says, thinking wistfully of his bed. He adds it to his mental list of things to indulge in when the war ends—meditating just to calm his mind and not as a substitute for sleep, strolling through the Room of a Thousand Fountains, sitting among the plants that are in bloom in the Temple gardens.

His datapad chimes again and he taps it to silence the alarm. Then he gathers up his work and makes his way back to his room to shower and change before the meeting. It’s early enough that very few others are awake and about; there’s a hush over the Temple, like it too is resting and gathering itself to face the day. He nods to a young Padawan hiding a yawn behind the sleeve of her robe and stumbling bleary-eyed in the direction of the Archive.

When he lets himself into his room, he senses Anakin’s presence immediately and braces himself for a whirlwind.

None come, though, and he frowns as he scans the room. Did he—then he catches sight of Anakin’s curls on his pillow and his lips quirk up in an reflexive smile. The rest of him is hidden under the thick blanket he must have pulled out from the closet. Anakin always did like sleeping under a heavier blanket. Obi-Wan had never fully determined if it was because the temperature on Coruscant was always colder than Tatooine or if it was because he liked the weight.

Obi-Wan sets his stacks of flimsis down on the table and grabs Anakin’s communicator. The other man would have to be at the War Council meeting later that morning but Obi-Wan’s loathe to wake him up now. He takes the communicator to the far side of the room and records a brief message, then sets an alarm on it and places it on the small table by the bed.

With one brief brush of his hand against soft brown curls, Obi-Wan turns and goes to the refresher to start—or continue, rather—his day.

 

* * *

 

After the Council meeting has adjourned and he’s on the lift returning to the main level with the other members who are also on the War Council, he checks his communicator and sees that Anakin’s left him fourteen messages. He rolls his eyes but can’t help a small grin as he scrolls through them.

_ >this is ridiculous _

_ >and by ‘this,’ i mean ur schedule _

_ >what, did u stop sleeping as soon as i boarded the shuttle to the ship? _

_ >how is it possible that u sat through MULTIPLE 5-HOUR LONG MEETINGS IN A DAY _

_ >??? _

_ >i can’t believe u scheduled time to meditate in the fountain room _

_ >i can’t believe u CANCELED YOUR MEDITATION TIME!!!! _

_ >there’s no scheduled lunch breaks _

_ >or dinner breaks _

_ >HAVE U NOT EATEN IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS???? _

_ >i’m ordering lunch for the ccc meeting _

_ >what do u want? _

_ >never mind, i’m getting everything _

_ >i’m gonna tell che on u _

Obi-Wan’s eyes widen at the last one. ‘Don’t,’ he types out as he exits the lift.

_ >too late! :p _

Obi-Wan can practically see Anakin’s glee at that. He holds back a sigh and resigns himself to a stern lecture by the master healer on the importance of self-care. He rounds the corner of the hall and enters the Primary Situation Room.

“Really?” he asks Anakin, who’s fiddling with his datapad near the holotable in the center of the room. He comes to a stop next to him and arches his brows at him. “Fourteen messages? You know I was in a meeting.”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Anakin says. “That’s why I didn’t mark any of them as urgent.” He smiles at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Obi-Wan fights the urge to lean into him. He’s _missed_ him. They haven’t been apart for such a long period of time since Anakin had told him about Tatooine and the Tuskens. “And what did Master Che say?” he asks, mindful of the master healer’s presence in the corner of the room, where she’s speaking with Master Koon.

“That you’re probably about to fall over from exhaustion and I should be ready to catch you.”

“I’m not _that_ bad,” Obi-Wan protests.

“Your hands are shaking,” Anakin points out.

Obi-Wan looks down and sees that his hands do indeed have a fine tremor. He crosses his arms and lets the sleeves of his robe hide them. “I’m fine,” he says.

Anakin rolls his eyes and pulls out a ration bar. “Sure. Here, at least eat this. This one’s got a lot of protein.” He lowers his voice and adds, “If you want, I can give you a little Force boost.”

“Anakin Skywalker, have you not learned anything from me in the past two years?” Master Che says loudly, striding over.

Anakin cringes. “Sorry, Master Che, I was just trying to help.”

“Using the Force to boost energy and alertness is only a temporary relief and will result in more trouble later when the body can no longer sustain it,” Master Che says in the tone of someone who has said this multiple times to many beings nearly every day since the war started.

Obi-Wan keeps silent and does not mention that he had been using the Force to supplement his energy for days and is feeling the early signs of Force overuse; he suspects that Master Che already knows.

“I would hope that everyone who has heard me say so is being mindful of this,” she continues. She looks around the room and most of the gathered Jedi look away. The admirals look politely interested, if not a little puzzled.

“Why don’t we go ahead and start the meeting? I believe that we’re all here now,” Obi-Wan announces, maybe a little hastily.

Master Che narrows her eyes at him but moves to take her usual seat across the table. Anakin flashes him a small, relieved smile. The others nod and gather in around the projected holomap of the galaxy.

The War Council meeting commences.

 

* * *

 

“You should eat,” Anakin says once the serving droids have finished setting up the buffet luncheon and exited the room.

“I’ll get a plate after,” Obi-Wan says, feeling a bit nauseous at the sight and smell of food.

Anakin frowns. Then he looks pointedly around at the assembled clone commanders. “Until you do, no one else can. Since you’re the ranking military officer here and all.”

“Anakin, you know I don’t hold to military hierarchy and protocol like that.”

“Cody, doesn’t that food smell delicious?” Wolffe asks behind him.

“Oh yes, Wolffe, it does. You know, I haven’t had anything to eat since 0600, after morning drill. I am famished,” Cody says dryly.

“It’s too bad the general doesn’t hold to military protocol, but doesn’t seem to realize that it’s still rude for us to eat in front of a superior officer who’s not also eating,” Wolffe says in an exaggerated lament.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until this three-hour long meeting ends, and hope that the food tastes just as good cold as it probably does hot.”

Next to him, Anakin bites his lip on a smile.

Against his will, a light chuckle escapes. “Yes, okay, fine, we’ll all eat now. Force forbid anyone hears you two and thinks you were serious,” Obi-Wan says. He glances over his shoulder at Wolffe, who’s grinning broadly at him. “Don’t tell Master Koon I didn’t feed you. He’ll have my head.”

“I would never, General,” Wolffe says solemnly. Then he gestures at the stack of plates next to the trays of food.

Obi-Wan takes the hint and distributes them. Then he selects a small assortment of the blandest food that’s available; things that he’s mostly sure he’ll be able to stomach.

“Here,” Anakin says, holding up a cup of herbal tea. “This should help.” He leans in and hisses, “You’ve been using the Force to substitute for sleep again, haven’t you? Obi-Wan, this is supposed to be your time to rest and recuperate, away from the front! You’re not supposed to work yourself even harder than when you’re actually preparing for battle!”

“I know,” he says with a wince, taking the cup of tea. “But there’s a lot of work to do.”

“You’ve got to delegate! This isn’t healthy. You can’t keep going like this.”

“I’m going to regret having you study healing with Master Che, aren’t I?”

“Why, because now I know exactly how bad you are at taking care of yourself? You always made sure _I_ ate regularly and got enough sleep when I was a kid. I don’t get why you don’t do the same for yourself.”

Obi-Wan shrugs. “I’m used to it. You know I’ve always had trouble sleeping.”

“Yes but this is really not a good time to be going without sleep.”

“I know, and I will get some sleep. Don’t worry.”

“When?”

“When I have time.” Anakin groans but Obi-Wan raises his voice to say, “Okay, let’s get started with the meeting.”

 

* * *

 

“It’s a good thing Luminara canceled your meeting with her,” Anakin says when they’re in the residential sector of the Temple. He’s tapping on his datapad and Obi-Wan takes his out as well, pulling up his to-do list.

“Yes, now I’ll be able to finish up the paperwork I didn’t get to last night.” He pats the pockets of his robes but they’re empty except for the second protein bar that Anakin had given him. He must have left the flimsis on the desk in his room.

“No, I meant because now you’ll be able to go to sleep early.”

“Yes, after I finish up the paperwork.”

Anakin pauses in his typing to roll his eyes at him.

“I do hope that she’s right and the Senate will vote to start peace talks with the Confederacy. This war’s gone on for too long as it is.”

“Luminara’s always been good at reading the Senate; that’s why you made her the liaison. If she says it’s likely, then there must be a good chance,” Anakin agrees. “Plus, she’s been working with Padmé and Bail’s group and they’ve been gaining support.”

“The GAR has as well. We’ve gotten some additional civilian recruits while you were away. We’ll be escorting them to Kamino when we ship back out to the 13th. They’re doing basic training right now.”

“Oh? How do they look?”

“Cody is...not impressed. But they’ve got heart.”

“Ouch,” Anakin says with a wince. “Well, Master Ti will whip them into shape.”

“Yes, though she, Bric, and El-Les may have their work cut out for them with this group,” Obi-Wan says. They stop at a door and he reaches out to palm it open. Then he stops. Blinks. “Why are we at your room?”

“Because if you go to your room, you’re not going to be able to sleep. There’s work all over the place there, and you’ll keep getting interrupted by people needing to ask you questions or wanting you to sign something. It’ll be more restful here.” Anakin places his palm on the security pad and it blinks green; the door slides open and they step inside.

“Anakin, I’m not going to sleep. Not yet. I need to finish up my work,” Obi-Wan says. Anakin holds out his hand and he reflexively shrugs off his robe and gives it to him.

“Look, it’s in your schedule. ‘Sleep.’ For eight hours, even.” Anakin hands him his datapad while he turns to his closet and hangs up their robes.

Obi-Wan takes it and squints down at it; his schedule’s been pulled up and next to the now-canceled meeting with Luminara is a new item: Sleep. And it’s been set to last eight hours. “Anakin….” Obi-Wan starts.

The other man raises his brow at him. “What? Do you really think you’re going to be able to concentrate on work right now? Be honest, Obi-Wan. If you try to stay up and work now, it’s going to take at least twice as long to get through anything and you’re more likely to make mistakes because you’re tired. Is there anything really urgent that you absolutely have to take care of right now?”

“I...suppose not,” Obi-Wan admits, thinking about how words have been blurring in front of him and how he’s had to put more effort than usual into paying attention at the meetings. “Alright, we can sleep,” he says, because Anakin’s already taken off his tunics and slipped into his sleep pants.

“All right!” Anakin cheers. He reaches over and unties Obi-Wan’s belt, then gestures for him to take off his tunics. When Obi-Wan quirks a brow at him, he pulls out a set of soft sleep robes and holds it out. “From the last time you stayed over,” he says. “I had the cleaning droid just throw it in the laundry with my stuff.”

“This is all very suspiciously well-planned,” Obi-Wan says, but he does change into his preferred sleep attire.

“Nah, I’m just always ready for you to sleep here, even though we usually go to your room,” Anakin says with a grin. “Come on, let’s get into bed.”

Obi-Wan lets himself be shuffled over to it, feeling more than a little endeared by Anakin lifting up the thick comforter for him. He slides in and over to the far side of the small bed; Anakin has a slightly larger bed than the standard-issue ones for Knights to accommodate his taller frame but it still isn’t meant to be shared. The reason they usually sleep in his room instead is that, as a Councillor, he’s been given both a larger room and a larger bed.

Anakin squeezes in next to him and lays down, then nudges Obi-Wan into position half on top of him and half curled into his side. He pillows his head on Anakin’s bare chest and sighs as the warm weight of the comforter settles over and around him. Anakin’s prosthetic arm wraps around his back and his other hand cards through his hair.

“Good?” he asks.

“Yes, ac—” Obi-Wan yawns “—tually.” He’s surprised at just how good it feels. The whole room is suffused with Anakin’s Force presence; it’s like he’s completely surrounded by him and it’s...comforting. Almost against his will, he sinks into it, revels a bit in the feeling of Anakin’s fingers playing with his hair.

His eyelids grow heavy. His breathing slows.

His hand twitches once and then relaxes against the mattress.

He shifts his other hand up and rests it on Anakin’s pillow. He hums contentedly when Anakin presses a light kiss to it.

Between one breath and the next, he falls asleep.


End file.
